HMV takes on mighty iTunes with 40p promo

HMV has a new music download site and lots of offers to tempt punters away from iTunes.

The UK music retailer kicks off hmvdigital today by selling any song in the top 40 for 40p a pop. Chart albums are retailing for as little as £4.99.

The service has some 10 million DRM-free MP3 songs in its catalogue - and users can download previous purchases. At time of writing, it is unclear if overseas customers can use the service - although Canadians have their own version at hmvdigital.ca.

Apple's iTunes is unlikely to be quaking in its boots just yet. But HMV's service marks a step up on its previous effort in 2005, which only worked with Windows Media Player, astonishingly enough.